


Checked and stamped

by wallflowerslarry



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Library, Books, Fluff, Innocent Louis, M/M, Quirky Harry, Self-Indulgent, Shy Louis, kinda nerd louis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-10 16:55:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5593816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wallflowerslarry/pseuds/wallflowerslarry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Something about the smell of bookshops enticed Louis. That, and the cute boy who worked behind the counter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Checked and stamped

Louis pulled the warm fleece of his grey jacket around himself, it was a little colder than he assumed it would be. The route to the bookshop was not unfamiliar to him, as he made this journey as often as he could. The bookshop was a safe space of sorts, one to get away from the noise of having such a large family or the hoard of school work that he accumulated during the week.

The bookshop smelt like clean parchment and wood, a smell that made Louis feel at his most comfortable. Louis also enjoyed the view of the cashier boy, whose name Louis didn’t know, from the table he always sits at. The boy had soft, curly hair that he wanted to twist around his fingers, pale, creamy skin that Louis wanted to pepper with kisses and the greenest eyes that reminded him of the deepest part of a forest. 

Louis was always too nervous to talk to the boy who looked like he could charm the pants off any of the customers that walked through the door. 

With that, Louis got to the small oak door, the silver bell twinkling as he pushed open the bookshop door.

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

Almost automatically the boy’s eyes were focused on Louis, who was blushing under the intensity of his stare. Louis nodded his head towards the boy in acknowledgement.

He always put his bag down on a small, rounded table towards the right side of the room, perfect for a view of both the till and the boy behind it.

As Louis placed his bag down with a slight thud, he twisted to face the bookshelf that was behind the table. There were titles from the Bronte’s, Dickens, Austen and more modern books by Rowling and Collins, all of which Louis had probably read twice over. He picked up The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a book he’d wanted to read for a while.

Louis saw the boy move in his periphery, he was certain he was coming closer and closer, until he saw the boy standing at the book shelf next him, that Louis recognized as the Sci-Fi section.

The boy cleared his throat, which caused Louis to look up. Louis’ eyes raked down to the boy’s chest, where he wore a name tag that said “Harry”. “I’ve been watching you, um, look at the books for a while and I was, um, wondering if you needed any, um help trying to find anything?” Louis didn’t know if the slow drawl in his voice was down to nervousness.

Naturally, Louis began to panic, it wasn’t every day that attractive boys spoke to him. “N-no thanks I think I’m fine, I think I can work my way around this place.” The boy, Harry, looked at Louis and smiled a smile that could end wars. “I know, I’ve seen you here before, I enjoy watching you.” As soon as those words were out of his mouth, Harry wanted to kick himself “not that I watch you in a weird way, I just think you’re cute” Louis’s eyes went wide with the words that were spoken.

“Oh, um, I didn’t think anyone noticed me around here” Louis’ voice began to slow down towards the end of his sentence, Harry began to pick up on his awkwardness. “How can people not notice you? I mean, I think you’re very pretty and I’ve seen the way you spend ages trying to pick a book and you sit in the same place all the time you’re here and you get so into the whatever you read and you’re so endearing.” Harry’s voice carried a blush down Louis’s cheeks. “I, uhm, thank you Harry.” Louis giggled as his eyes shot down to look at his feet, with a sudden interest in his scuffed vans. Harry sighed and looked at the book still in Louis’ hand. “I can go scan that for you if you’d like...” Harry’s voice trailed off awaiting to here Louis’s name. “Louis. Louis Tomlinson” Harry took his hand and shook it softly. “’m Harry Styles.”

Louis passed the book gently to Harry and he traipsed off to the till, Louis in tow. He picked up a pen and started scrawling quickly over the first blank in the book. Louis was oblivious to this as he was too busy admiring the swift movements of Harry’s biceps as he scanned and bagged up the book. 

Louis was blushing when Harry looked up and caught him staring. “Um, Lou, I think this book is special edition so you might want to read it all carefully.” Louis eyed Harry as he went to pick up his bag and jacket. “Thank you, Harry, I’ll see you next time.” He spoke softly, as if speaking louder would break the atmosphere. As he was walking out, he turned to Harry who was smiling at him and gave him a soft wave goodbye.

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

Later that night, if Louis was laid in bed reading Perks of Being a Wallflower, with a scrawled note over the first page that read “07765734526 – Call/text me, Lou. – Harry xx” no one had to know. And if Louis squealed into his pillow over it, then no one had to know about that either.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading, I hope you all enjoyed this as it was the first time i've ever posted:)


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